As a longtime Apple Watch fan, I’ve always been curious about how more affordable smartwatches measure up. Xiaomi’s Smart Band 9 has earned solid reviews, and with its latest model priced at just $50, I decided to put it to the test. In this review, I’ll focus on the Xiaomi Watch’s features, performance, and overall value, while also comparing some key aspects to my Apple Watch Series 10 (which I’ve covered in detail here) to see how it stacks up against a premium smartwatch.
Smartwatch, Fitness Tracker, Smart band – What’s the difference?
- Smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smart bands differ mainly in their features and focus. Smartwatches act as smartphone extensions, offering advanced features like app installation, music control, and sometimes cellular connectivity, but they are generally more expensive and have shorter battery life.
- Fitness trackers and smart bands primarily focus on health and fitness tracking, such as steps and heart rate, with longer battery life and lower costs. They provide basic notifications but usually don’t allow responding. Overall, smartwatches offer more complex functionality, while fitness trackers/smart bands prioritize health monitoring.
Unboxing & First Impressions
Opening the box, I found the Xiaomi Smart Band 9, a charging cable, and the usual paperwork. Right away, the band felt lightweight and well-built. The display looked slim, slightly higher than expected and the strap felt comfortable on my wrist. Setting it up was quick, and within minutes, I was ready to test its features.
Design & Display
Xiaomi has kept its signature slim design but improved the display quality. The Smart Band 9 features a bright AMOLED screen with vibrant colors and sharp text. It’s easy to read even under direct sunlight, which is a big plus for outdoor workouts. Swiping through menus felt smooth, and the touch response was quick. Xiaomi offers a variety of watch faces and interchangeable straps, making it easy to personalize.
Features & Performance
Health & Fitness Tracking
One of the main reasons I use a fitness tracker is to monitor my activity. Step tracking was fairly accurate, and the heart rate sensor gave consistent readings. I liked the added workout modes, covering everything from running and cycling to yoga and swimming. However, without built-in GPS, I had to rely on my phone for accurate route tracking.
Apple Watch Series 10 vs. Xiaomi Smart Band 9 – Indoor Cycling Test
To compare how well a premium smartwatch stacks up against a budget fitness tracker, I tested both the Apple Watch Series 10 and Xiaomi Smart Band 9 during an indoor cycling session using Zwift. The goal was to see how accurately they track workout duration, calories burned, heart rate, and intensity zones.
Overall, both devices performed surprisingly well, delivering very similar results in terms of heart rate and calorie burn. However, their approach to displaying data differs. The Apple Watch provides a polished experience with a clean interface, but its Health app feels cluttered when reviewing workouts. In contrast, I found the Mi Fitness app to be better at presenting data, it’s clean, simple, and easy to read without needing to dig into multiple menus. The zone breakdown and training effect score on Xiaomi’s app give better insight at a glance, while Apple tends to simplify its main workout summary.
Here’s a detailed comparison of the results:
| Metric | Apple Watch Series 10 | Xiaomi Smart Band 9 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workout Time | 23:14 min | 23:20 min | ~6 sec difference |
| Total Calories | 221 kcal | 223 kcal | Almost identical |
| Active Calories | 184 kcal | Not differentiated | Apple separates active vs. resting burn |
| Avg Heart Rate | 115 BPM | 113 BPM | Close match |
| Max Heart Rate | 147 BPM | 137 BPM | Apple recorded a slightly higher peak |
| Heart Rate Variability | 86-147 BPM | Not explicitly shown | Apple’s range is wider |
| Effort Level | “Easy” (user tag) | Zone Breakdown: 8 min light, 12.5 min moderate, 1.75 min aerobic | Xiaomi provides better zone clarity |
| Training Effect | Not shown in summary | 1.3 (low impact workout) | Xiaomi adds training insights |
Key Takeaways:
✔️ Both devices tracked the indoor cycling session accurately, with near-identical calorie burn and heart rate averages. Only variation is the max pulse, where there is a small gap between the two.
✔️ Apple Watch Series 10 provides a premium experience but simplifies intensity data.
✔️ Xiaomi Smart Band 9 offers better workout breakdowns – especially with its zone insights and training effect score.
✔️ Mi Fitness app wins for data overview – clean, simple, and more informative at a glance than Apple Health.
When it comes to heart rate monitoring, It takes some time for the Xiaomi Smart Band to load my heart rate compared to my Apple Watch, but seems to be pretty identical measures between the two watches.
The heart rate on Xiaomi seems to me to be accurate, the only concern is if you are doing high intensity workouts where you are going for max pulse. This is where I have seen some discrepancies between what Apple Watch show and Mi Band 9.
Sleep Insights
Sleep tracking worked well, breaking down my sleep stages into deep, light, and REM sleep. However, I am questioning the accuracy as I compared the readings to my Apple Watch Series 10. I had my Apple Watch on my left wrist and the Xiaomi Smart Band on my right wrist. Waking up, checking the sleep insights on each of the watches, there was a discrepancy of about one hour in total. See below the comparison between the Xiaomi app and Apple Health app:
| Sleep Stages | Apple Watch Series 10 | Xiaomi Smart Band 9 |
| Deep | 27 min | 2 hrs 9 min |
| Rem | 2 hrs 12 min | 1 hr 52 mins |
| Core / Light | 5 hrs 30 min | 2 hrs 52 mins |
| Awake | 43 | 1 hr |
As shown above, this is from the same night where I wore both of the watches. There is a gap of over one hour of total sleep, and the main difference is “deep” sleep, where Xiaomi says I had 2 hours and 9 minutes sleep and Apple Health reported 27 minutes of “deep” sleep. Check out our video below on the full comparison between Xiaomi Smart Band 9 and Apple Watch Series 10.
Smart Features
Beyond fitness, the Smart Band 9 handled notifications well. I could see messages, control music, and check the weather right from my wrist. There’s no voice assistant, but that’s expected in this price range. It would have been nice to see some third-party app support, but for basic smartwatch features, it did the job. I also enjoy features like alarms and a phone finder.
Battery Life & Charging
Battery life is one of Xiaomi’s strongest points, and this band didn’t disappoint. I easily got around two weeks of use on a single charge, even with heart rate tracking enabled. Xiaomi advertised for 21 days of battery life, but in my experience it was around two weeks. I have enabled enhanced sleep tracking and continuous heart and stress monitoring which impacts the battery life. Overall, battery on this device is a win.
App & Connectivity
The Smart Band 9 connects to the Mi Fitness app, which I found user-friendly and packed with useful insights. Syncing was mostly seamless, though I noticed an occasional delay in updating workout data. The app gave a good breakdown of my health metrics, but I wish it integrated with more third-party fitness platforms.
I love how my Xiaomi Smart Band 9 effortlessly connects to my phone via Bluetooth 5.4, making data syncing with the Mi Fitness app seamless. It lets me receive notifications, control music, and even use it as a remote shutter for my camera. I do wish the global version had GPS and NFC, like the Chinese variant, but it still works smoothly with Android 8.0+ and iOS 12.0+, making it widely compatible.
Pros & Cons
What I Loved:
✔️ Bright and responsive AMOLED display
✔️ Intuitive and smooth user interface. Also liked the Mi app with smart use of visual elements like emojs
✔️ Stress monitoring – on demand and always-on
✔️ Lightweight
✔️ Mi Fitness app with intuitive and engaging UI. Sleep insights and assigned sleep animal was a fun touch
✔️ Long battery life
✔️ Plenty of workout modes
✔️ Affordable price
What Could Be Better:
❌ No built-in GPS
❌ Limited third-party app support
❌ Occasional syncing delays
❌ Sleep insights accuracy (not convinced as I compared to my Apple Watch)
❌ Not as comfortable to sleep with as its not as thin as my Apple Watch, sometimes it even unstrapped while sleeping
Final Verdict: Is the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Worth It?
For its price, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 is a solid choice for anyone looking for an affordable fitness tracker with a bright display, reliable activity tracking, and excellent battery life. It’s ideal for casual fitness enthusiasts who want to monitor their workouts, steps, and heart rate without spending a fortune.
However, if you’re looking for comprehensive health and sleep insights, this may not be the best option. The lack of built-in GPS and a few minor limitations mean it’s not designed for serious athletes or those who need advanced health metrics.
That said, if you’re okay with GPS reliance on your phone and want a simple, effective fitness band at a fraction of the cost of a smartwatch, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 is one of the best budget trackers available.
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